SOFIA'S TRIUMPH ( Triumf Sofii)
Mid-season. New variety (F7 in 2025), bred by, and a favourite of, Sofia Saakova. Indeterminate very tall plants with regular leaf foliage. Fruits are multi-coloured - emerald green with crimson, red, yellow striped hearts with strokes with anthocyanin on the shoulders. Fruits average about 200 gr. and are reported to be very productive and are very highly rated for a complex layered taste. The flesh is tricolor.
OCHRE VEIL ( Okhrovaya Vual)
Mid-season. Bred by Sofia Saakova, a line from her Sofia’s Fire Comet. Indeterminate, regular drooping leaves with heart shaped fruits that weigh between 200-300 gr. ocher colour with green and anthocyanin stripes. The flesh is very juicy and sweet with a bright fruity aroma. High-yielding, with a complex, rich and meaty flavour. Requires strong support.
TASTY F4
Mid-season. Dwarf indeterminate with rugouse potato leaf foliage. This grow out is from the Dwarf Tomato Project; decided to go back and see what other gems this F3 seed has to offer. BrandyFred is a well regarded stable variety from this cross. My F3 seed described as (PL Purple 13 oz.) (Dwarf Wild Fred x Brandywine) was received in 2010 and my 2025 grow out resulted in a productive PL dwarf with purple/black (clear skin) colour and green shoulders. The plant was healthy, and the flavour was one of my best last year ..... sweet, deep, rich and savory. Well worth a regrow.
RED DAWN
Early. Determinate with RL foliage. I believe this variety is somewhat rare as I can find little information on line. Received seed in 2001 and in 2018 managed to get one seed to germinate. This tomato had fruit set by mid-June in 2018. Background: variety native to England and a good producer in cool weather. Round red saladette size fruit, around 100- 200 gr. Firm flesh. Sweet and very slightly acidic flavor. My notes from 2018 say “very nice tomato”, so thought I’d grow out for fresh seed.
BEACH CHERRY
Mid-Early season. Indeterminate with RL foliage. Cherry tomato weighing 20 gr. with almost black fruits and greenish gel ... I find tomatoes with green seed gel often have superior flavour. Reports on flavour highlight its tasty sweet complex flavour. This year I decided to grow only one cherry tomato ...... hopefully I chose wisely!!
BULGARIAN TRIUMPH
Mid-season. Indeterminate with regular leaf foliage. This variety is included in Carolyn Male’s “100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden” and she describes the taste as “strong and sweet, ambrosial”. Red globes grow in clusters of four to six and average around 200 – 300 gr. Described as “a very nice tomato indeed”. This is a Bulgarian family heirloom with a high yield.
CHOCOLATE LIGHT(E)NING
Mid-season. Dwarf Indeterminate with rugose regular leaf foliage. This variety is from the Dwarf Tomato Project and was selected from a cross of Dwarf Wild Fred and Beauty King. Introduced in 2015. Chocolate Light(e)ning produces smooth, slightly oblate fruits that weigh around 400 gr. and have a rich crimson flesh. Black/brown fruits are striped with jagged bronze/gold stripes that are borne in profusion and the taste is described as “intense and balanced flavour”.
"BLAZENSTVO" (BLISS)
Mid-Season. Selected by Sofia Saakova. Indeterminate, regular leaf. Plant is tall, strong and vigorous with deeply dissected leaves that take up a lot of space. Clusters contain 6-12 or more fruits, weighing 200-450 gr. The multicoloured beefsteak fruits are flattened rounds with ribbing near the stalk. The flesh is tricolor, dense, juicy, rich and creamy with a sweet taste. Yield is very high and plant shows strong disease resistance. Fruits are said to be very beautiful, olive-green skin along with burgundy, emerald, and ochre colours with antho.
LILLY 2 F3 (LILIBET)
Mid-Season. Indeterminate with regular leaf foliage. Lilly is part the Dwarf Tomato Project, from a cross of Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom x Dwarf Speckled Heart. This non-dwarf selection is from my 2022 grow out. I note clear skin so we have pink with gold stripes, heart shaped. Not the greatest production and fruit showed strange“raised scars”. It was however, a rat favourite and with the few fruit I was able to harvest, taste came in at 8 up to -9 with a few yums in taste notes. Fruits varied in size from 200 to 300 gr. and further taste notes indicate a nice tang and depth of flavour; juicy, lovely meaty texture with no core. Worth a regrow.
PALE PERFECT PURPLE (dark)
aka Perfect Purple
Early Mid-Season. Indetermiante with potato leaf foliage. This tomato is a bit of a mystery ... it seems Tad Smith’s (the breeder) original seed share may not have been stable. Most tomato sites now describe this variety as a smooth round pink globe .... the “other” Pale Perfect Purple is the one I’m hopefully growing out this year. The fruit should be dusky purplish with green seed gel. My seed came from a Tomato Junction member who notes her fruit have always been the darker colour.
